Hello everyone! I'm expecting to have my first baby in March of 2014. Everyone around me is pressuring me to get rid of my 2 Shibas, and it's driving me crazy. I've read previous posts and tips, but a little encouragement from some of you who had newborns will help me build up my case to have my Shibas from these people. Thanks!

@Araks I feel the same way. When I hear that I respond with "why do you bother having a kid? You're going to get rid of them anyways at this rate :)"

@Fawkes702 why do you have to build up a case? Honestly if you can handle two Shibas and feel you can handle the kid with the Shibas what's there to explain? It's your life. Tell them once and only once - make sure you make it clear, that the Shibas are staying.

My mother in law told my husband and I - when we are have a kid, our dogs have to go or else they won't visit. Our answer: don't visit. It's Simple, straight to the point. Nothing to negotiate, no case needs to be made.

What are your Shiba's like personality wise? I don't understand why people would tell you to get rid of your dogs just because you're expecting. Unless if you're harboring two rabid Shibas that attack any child it sees...

If you have anyone in your family with small children already, maybe bring your dogs around them more? But I think in order to give you good advice, we'd need more information about your shibas and situation.

Ummm... Kids that grow up with pets are less likely to have allergies...My son was with Kuma for 4 months, until our living situations got screwed up.BUT, I do have to say, Kuma kept wanting to pay bite... He was only 6mo old though when baby boy was born

Shiba's arent the most tolerant dogs, but I don't see why it would be a problem for you to have them with a baby. I think it does depend on their personality. If one of the dogs is snippy and easily set off, maybe you should evaluate your options in case it's just too much for the dog. If your lifestyle changes drastically enough, the dog doesn't get along well with the baby, and ends up being separated all the time, that's no way to live and perhaps rehoming is the most fair thing to do. But people who just say off the bat that if you're having a kid, you should get rid of your dogs is just ignorant and wrong.

There are tons of great resources out there for introducing dogs and babies. Especially well-written articles for introducing pitbulls to babies, being that its one of the most delicate situations between dogs and kids. I read a great one a while back in a magazine and I have no idea how to find it (I just searched around a bit on the web). It was about introducing a senior pit to a newborn, which is probably the trickiest thing in the world. It talked about using praise, scent, and safe zones to keep everyone on the road to cohabitation. It was super well-written but I can't find it now. :-<

Check out http://www.livingwithkidsanddogs.com/I can't foresee any issues with a newborn baby, it's when s/he starts crawling that you'll need to be vigilant (and/or invest in lots of baby gates and play pen fencing).

Hello, sorry for bringing back a new discussion. My sister just gave birth and the newborn was brought home 2 days ago. When waited for all our 4 dogs to be calm before introducing the newborn. My sister was sitting on the chair while letting our dogs smell the newborn. The three dogs smelled her and just walk away. However, my Shiba Inu, Mamoru lunge and her. Mamoru has a very high prey drive. He chases and kill every mammal that moves. The moment he smelled her, he lunge at her as if she some kind of mammal or prey. Ive read articles on how dogs doesnt see newborn as human since they dont walk, talk, or move like adult. When we pull back Mamoru he whinned and screamed so loud. He listened to my command to lay down but his eyes are still focused on the newborn as of he's trying to stalk her. Its exactly the same reaction as when we try to stop him from killing the neighbors cat. He screamed whined and scratched me. So now Mamoru thinks that the new baby is some kind of prey and he want to tear her apart... ( he killed bird mid air before and killed so many squirrels and mice...)Before the arrival, I opened some baby crying sound and all that but he doesnt seem to care at all. Howeve after smelling her, when she started crying, he goes cray EVERY SINGLE TIME. He runs around the house trying to find the baby straching the doors and etc. I started training him immediately. I took the smell ( her clothes) and put it on top of a chair. I command Mamoru to stay away from the scent. Command him to lay down. He can smell it, as long as its from a far away. He seems to be doing really great. Listened to all command, however the next day, he acts the same when he saw the newborn. All excited and jumping up, scratching the door to get to her.

So now, we are planning not to let him see the newborn until she's a little older, when he starts developing human traits because I'm scared for her safety.

He doesnt have any aggression towards children or adult and he is not jealous or territorial.

I dont know if what i'm doing is going to help him, so i need some suggestion.

Hiiiii! So my son is now 3 years old and I have a 7 month old. One of my shibas did the predator thing but not as nearly as intense as the way you describe. I kept both shibas away for the first 8-10 months until baby was crawling/walking. I never left them alone, ever. We ended up rehoming that shiba to my brother when the second child was born, I couldn't handle the work at seperating him again w now a toddler around. If I were you I'd be diligent at keeping that dog or all the dogs seperate... but if he's really a threat I'd find him a new home. There was a friend of mine whose child almost got taken away by CPS because her dog did that and someone reported her. And then you hear even more horror stories. Good luck and congrats

Did you guys bring home a piece of clothing that smelt like the newborn before bringing the newborn home? That's one of the highly recommended thing to do as a preliminary test as well as get the dogs use to the smell.

I don't think you should train him to stay away from the smell, but to leave it alone. You're trying to train him to remain calm when he smells/sees the baby.

Have you desensitize your shiba to kids before? Not all shibas do well with kids if they aren't properly exposed.

As Fawkwes mentioned, never leave the newborn alone. Be diligent and always have somebody next to the baby if dogs are free roaming in the house.

My son is turning 2 years old next month and I've had my shiba for almost 6 years.

Thankyou for the answers! We werent able to bring home the clothing since the hospital has its own rule and stuff. So we werent able to ask for the clothing. I really dont want to rehome our shiba since he means a lot of all of us as well. He has a very good relationship with my sister and her husband. She and her husband helped took care of Mamoru since we brought him home. They had no problems at all. Now Mamoru and the baby is separated all the time. When the baby cries, I try to calm Mamoru down and give him treats if he's calm. Our neighbor has kids and they always come play with the dogs and all of them are fine. They are really good and patient with kids(toddlers) Mamoru seems really okay with kids that are able to walk and actually look like adult. In my opinion, I think that in Mamoru's head, the meaning of human is adult and toddlers. Thats why thats the probelm because I dont know how to change his mindset. When it comes to finding prey, Mamoru is the worst. Usually he is very gentle and calm but with small mammals, he's a monster. I'll try teaching him to leave it alone instead of staying away since it's probably impossible to stay away.

For now the only way to keep the baby safe, I will separate them until the baby is bigger and probably until the crawling stage. I've read a lot of news about accidents involving kids and family dogs. It's very heartbreaking. And even though I love my dogs very much and trust them in most things, I really dont trust them with small babies like this. So I'll be very careful about this.

Hopefully with the training he'll get use to the new baby and won't be as aggressive. ( even though i've been training him to stop killing frogs for the longest time yet we still have to deal with that problem almost everyday...)

I've talked to trainners and they said that it's very hard to change the insticntual side of dogs.

Just another quick question..What should I do for now? Im unsure on which is a better decision..

1. Gradually introduce the baby to him again. Like let him see the baby from far, on leash everyday

2. Separate them (no interaction at all) until the baby is old enough ( 8-10 months) then introduce the baby again.

If I gradually introduce the baby and letting him see her everyday will it trigger his prey-drive even more? Will it make him even more curious since he cant touch her it'll make him even more curious?

Or if i waited 8 months and introduce her again, will he see her as a human baby now not as a prey to hunt? What of he still sees her as prey? Bigger prey even?

He doesnt seem to care about the baby's scent or clothing I used to train him anymore.. He doesnt care at all. But if he sees the way the baby moves with with the arms in the air and the squelling, he goes crazy..

Hospital rules? That's so odd... my husband was able to take the cap my newborn worn home to our dogs to let them smell it.

Honestly your stress isn't helping. Try to remain calm. Give it time and once the newborn hits 6-8 months and starts crawling/walking it might get better.

With the proper supervision, I would slowly introduce them. Don't make it a big deal. Some dogs don't do will on leashes, is your shiba one of them?

I'd make it a regular routine for you to be with your shiba in the same room as the baby while another adult is watching/holding the baby. Just remain calm and try to do what you usuaully do. I would do barriers/gate between baby and shiba as an extra precaution.

This is a bit late but I have 2 Shibas and they both are doing wonderful with my 4 month old. Was it a transition for them well yes. But my hub is brought a blanket home first. When the baby and I came home I came in first w/o baby and played with the dogs, they were excited to see me I had been gone a couple days. Once I calmed them he brought in the baby, we kept her in the carrier at a distance then placed her carrier on the kitchen table with adult supervision and talked to the dogs. We let them smell her. We didn’t let them get too close the first night. The second night was complete opposite of your experience in a sense. One of my Shibas protected her...later in our room with her when my son 14 years old went to touch her the dog snapped at him (not close enough to bite but a warning). I immediately corrected him. He did this with my husband and my 17 year old again the dog was corrected and did not snap again but laid near her while asleep. Now she is 4 months and they love her. Although I am always telling them not to lick her drool. They have even learned to leave her toys alone. It’s all in your dogs temperament and training also your energy is super important. My male will even let her touch his tail where he hates when anyone else does.